Affirming that true modern disciples are those who are able to introduce religion into the ongoing social dialogue, the Archbishop of Lagos, Most. Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins, emphasized that effective discipleship today will be largely defined by the witnessing to and sharing of faith, even when not specific, through the media networks.
The Prelate noted that other ways this can equally be achieved are through posting positive messages on Facebook pages and displaying banners and messages on various digital media platforms, and through contributions to discussions in the social networks by insisting on the side of truth and justice, maintained that these are some ways Christians can witness through the social media.
Referencing Pope Benedict XVI’s address at the meeting with the World of Culture in Lisbon in 2010, Archbishop Martins stated that the Church must enter into dialogue with the world in which she lives.
“A particularly significant way of offering such witness will be through a willingness to give oneself to others by patiently and respectfully engaging their questions and their doubts as they advance in their search for the truth and the meaning of human existence,” the Pope’s document reads.
Further acknowledging that the digital world should not be too strange to the Church, since the latter is already rich in the use of signs and symbols, explained that the combination of images and sound, which are vital elements of the digital world, is very evident in the Cross, icons, images, stained glass windows, stories of saints, pictures, and the various hymns and prayers in the church.
“The combination of images and sound is a vital element of the digital world. As such, the digital world should not be too strange to the Church, since the latter is already rich in the use of signs and symbols. This is evident from the cross, icons, images, stained glass windows, stories of saints, pictures in our churches, and the various hymns and prayers. The Church has for ages used these forms to convey the truth of faith. What needs to be done is to translate these to the language suitable for the new “agora,” the new “marketplace,” the social network, so that Christ and His message will be presented to the modern man.”
